Reputation, Resilience & Results: The Long Game of Leadership

Live from the 2026 Distressed Investing Summit Deal Forum at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, The M&A Advisor brings you a fireside-chat luncheon conversation honoring three titans of restructuring: a Lifetime Achievement Award for David Kurtz and Leadership Awards for Kevyn Orr and James Doak. Moderated by Jack Butler (Founder & CEO, Birch Lake Holdings), the panel trades war stories spanning five decades of dealmaking — from broke first-year associates living on beans and weenies to leading the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Featuring:

• Jack Butler — Founder & CEO, Birch Lake Holdings (moderator)
• James Doak — Head of Capital Structure Advisory, Stifel
• Kevyn D. Orr — Partner-in-Charge, U.S. Offices, Jones Day
• David S. Kurtz — Vice Chairman, Hilco Global; CEO, Hilco Professional Services

What's covered:

• How three very different paths — a "budding socialist" turned corporate lawyer, a self-described "magna cum nothing" law grad, and a Harvard MBA who chose Rust Belt restructuring over Silicon Valley — all converged on the bankruptcy bar just as the modern Bankruptcy Code was reshaping capital markets
• Building a career the boutique way: working at Wasserstein Perella, spinning out to found Miller Buckfire, and eventually joining forces with Stifel
• Kevyn Orr's inside account of serving as Emergency Manager of Detroit and steering the city's historic Chapter 9 restructuring — and why municipal bankruptcy is back in the headlines
• David Kurtz on scaling Hilco into two dozen-plus verticals and what it takes to run one of the country's leading turnaround and advisory firms
• A candid read on today's capital markets: political uncertainty, the blurring line between capital allocators and intermediaries, and where the panel sees opportunity over the next 12-18 months
• Why relationships — not resumes — are the real currency of a 40-year career, and the lesson each leader passes on to the next generation of dealmakers
• Closing remarks on privilege, obligation, and giving back, delivered as the 2026 Leadership and Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented

This is a conversation about the long game: how reputation compounds, how resilience gets tested, and how results follow both.

Since 1998, The M&A Advisor has been the definitive source for recognizing achievement and connecting the world's mergers, acquisitions, and turnaround elite. Whether you're new to dealmaking or a seasoned veteran, this podcast delivers masterclass strategies and unvarnished stories from the industry's most influential figures.

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Hosted by Roger Aaron, Founder and CEO of The M&A Advisor.

Stay decisive. Stay connected. Happy dealing.